At Home: A Style for Today with Things from the Past [Hardcover]

Suzanne Rheinstein (Author), Pieter Estersohn (Photographer), Margaret Russell (Foreword)

Book Description

Release date: October 19, 2010

Leading interior designer and owner of Hollyhock, Los Angeles’s renowned antiques and decorative arts mecca, Suzanne Rheinstein is known for her relaxed, elegant style. Style maker and interior designer Suzanne Rheinstein has a keen appreciation for special luxuries. She is a master at taking an eclectic mix of furnishings from the past and arranging them in a fresh, inspiring way. Elegant simplicity and attention to detail are the hallmarks of her look. A timeless quality pervades every room she designs. Rheinstein feels that how you live your life every day is much more important than getting your house together for a special occasion. Beautifully photographed, this inspiring volume shows examples of her work, ranging from a brick farmhouse in the Virginia countryside and a sophisticated rustic getaway overlooking the Big Wood River in Sun Valley to a year-round shingled residence on the beach in Newport Bay, as well as her own homes—a gracious Georgian Revival in Los Angeles and a New York City prewar pied-à-terre. They exemplify her talent for creating attractive homes that make living and entertaining extremely pleasurable.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"BUY IT BECAUSE: Rheinstein's belief in quotidian elegance is inspiring. 'A party house,' she writes, 'shouldn't really look that different from your everyday house.'" ~Town & Country

"A visual feast 4 trad lovers. Decorating & entertaining lessons in gorgeous photos" ~House Beautiful

"Gorgeous homes are the business of Rheinstein, a designer who owns the Los Angeles style emporium Hollyhock. The jewel of this book is the chapter on her stunning redo of a 300-acre Virginia farm. NOT JUST the library, dressing table, pantry and even the laundry room are worth poring over, BUT you can pore over the library, dressing table, pantry and even the laundry room." ~The Washington Post

"Passion for the past led Rheinstein to open her own antiques shop. Now one-of-a-kind pieces and six homes that feature them (including two of her own) are included in this tome, out in November." ~Traditional Home

"Over the 20-plus years she's been designing interiors. Suzanne Rheinstein has adorned dwellings from a Newport Bay colonial, to a Sun Valley mountain retreat, to a Virginia horse-country estate. These, and more of her most sumptuous undertakings, are all included in her first book, At Home: A Style for Today with Things from the Past. The volume also features her own beautiful Los Angeles home." ~C Magazine

About the Author

Suzanne Rheinstein’s projects have been published in many lifestyle magazines, including Elle Decor and House Beautiful, as well as in several books, among them Designing Women. Hollyhock is an important home furnishings resource for the design community.

Pieter Estersohn is a frequent contributor to Elle Decor, Martha Stewart Living, and other leading lifestyle magazines.

Margaret Russell, editor-in-chief of Elle Decor, is the author of several books, including So Chic: Glamorous Lives, Stylish Spaces.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Rizzoli (October 19, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847834093
• ISBN-13: 978-0847834099
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 1.1 x 11.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #88,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Antiques & Collectibles > Houseware & Dining > Furniture

More About the Author

Suzanne Rheinstein is an internationally recognized interior designer and the owner of Hollyhock, the renowned home furnishing and accessories shop, known for its unique antiques and decorative pieces. Her signature style is often described as elegant civility--"fewer things but better things"- encompassing a mixture of beautiful objects, furniture styles, personal art, painted surfaces, and great attention to comfort, textures, details and light.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Suzanne has a deep appreciation for the traditions of that city. Her Southern sense of style and hospitality, the visual sophistication she acquired living on the East Coast and her appreciation for the relaxed lifestyle of southern California have made her a sought-after talent.

Her first book, At Home: A Style for Today with Things from the Past, (Rizzoli, November 2010) focuses on six of her signature projects, including her own homes in Los Angeles and New York City. Each of the projects is documented in extensive, loving detail. Each home exemplifies her personal mantra; "every day is all there is" (Joan Didion), demonstrating how living well every day is much more important than getting your house together for a special occasion. The Wall Street Journal named the book a best seller.

Suzanne has created two collections of fabrics for Lee Jofa. Antique textiles from her personal collection inspire beautiful prints, weaves and embroideries. Refined silk, mohair, linen and cotton provide the perfect foundation for her fresh and understated interpretations of centuries-old designs. Her rug collection for Lee Jofa will debut in 2012.

Suzanne and her work have been featured in numerous regional and national magazines, books and blogs.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 55 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Past Perfect for Today's Homes October 23, 2010

By L. M. Keefer TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

In her own words interior designer Suzanne Rheinstein takes you on a personal tour through six of her design projects including two of her own homes: her L.A. home and her New York City pied-a-terre. The living room of her NYC pied-a-terre is featured on the cover of this book. Rheinstein describes what she loves most in design: "fewer but better things, painted surfaces, a mixture of furniture styles, a personal art collection and attention to comfort, colors, textures, details and light."

If you like these elements, you'll love this book. The designer makes the case that if you buy and keep fewer and better one-of-a-kind pieces, you can decorate around them. You may change colors and fabrics etc. throughout the years, but the essential beauty and quality is always there. It's like these choice pieces are the characters in the play who always have starring roles in your homes and something to say--the scenery revolves around them. The beautiful and interesting rooms featured in this book support this philosophy.

The projects showcased in this book are diverse. In addition to the New York apartment, there is a Georgian Revival house, a horse country estate in Virginia, a Sun Valley Idaho mountain home, a seaside home in Newport Bay and a Florida cottage. Rheinstein takes you leisurely through each home and explains the design choices in her own words so it's a fun tour. She is very knowledgeable about design history, and there's many references to styles and well-known designers. She mixes Gustavian with Edwardian with Regency with ease and has an educated eye. Rheinstein owns a shop called Hollyhock in California and designs fabric for Lee Joffa. Some of her fabrics are used in the rooms in this book.

I love her quote by Joan Didion: "Every day is all there is." Rheinstein encourages you to use and enjoy the best every day. At the end of the book, she generously lists her design inspirations in Europe and the United States, her favorite design books in her library and her sources for her work.

"All design is opinion," she quotes her friend, and fellow designer, William Yeoward. We're delighted to see and hear her opinion on design in this beautifully unique book. If you love the cover, as I do, you'll love touring the rooms inside with her as your personal and companionable guide.

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Dreamy October 22, 2010

By Edward Kay

Format:Hardcover

The most gorgeous, dreamy and inspiring book out this fall.
I love every page, every detail.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars For lovers of Traditional Decor June 16, 2011

By Raewyn

Format:Hardcover

As I reside in Australia, I had not heard of Suzanne Rheinstein before reading this book (the emphasis here trends more towards Antipodean and British designers). I was pleased to find that Ms Rheinstein's work was approachable despite the obvious grandeur of some of the homes depicted. The text is erudite and informed, and she is clearly knowledgable regarding the history of the decorative arts. She has a clear penchant for eighteenth century furnishings and 19th century needlework (homemade pieces, made by ladies of the period, feature strongly throughout her designs). The book depicts a diverse number of homes within it's pages and there is a clear nod to the practicalities of modern living in the kitchen, bedroom and gamesroom spaces in particular, even though the style remains resolutely traditional throughout. The treatment of televisions, children's play spaces, utilitarian corridors and pantry's are given photo and text space, and are not ignored in favour of the more glamourous public rooms of the houses. The emphasis on a very traditional style of decorating is perfectly in keeping with the book's subtitle, that makes it clear from the very outset that the designs will have a heavy emphasis on antiques and the decorative arts of previous centuries. Those readers, whose taste preferences run to the more traditional style of decorating, will find much to admire in this book. The writing is clear and practical, the photographs of the spaces are sumptuous, but not sterile. One does come away with a sense that these houses/rooms are actually lived in, rather than simply untouchable showcases. Whilst there are no surprises, there should not be any serious disappointment either. She delivers on the promise inherent in the title.